Federico Fellini quipped, "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." Surely, the master filmmaker was having a prophetic vision of Eataly, the 40,000-square-foot Italian food emporium cofounded by culinary powerhouses Lidia Bastianich, son Joe Bastianich, Chef Mario Batali, and Oscar Farinetti, who established Eataly's Italian outposts.

Located in the landmark Toy Building in New York City's Flatiron District, Eataly exemplifies the magic of the Italian table with a slate of artisanal producers of pastas, pizzas, breads, salumi, cheeses, beers, and wines. There are also boutique eateries, vegetable purveyors, butchers, and bakers.

Lidia's exclusive domain is La Scuola di Eataly, the School at Eataly, tucked in a corner behind the butcher. Traditional Home's former master chef-there are plenty of other credits to her name: author, Emmy nominee and James Beard Foundation winner, winemaker, restaurateur-made a commitment early in the planning stages to include education on Eataly's menu. Lidia serves as dean of the school and several times a year steps into the role of instructor. I attended a class covering the latter half of Fellini's equation: spring pastas.

We are seated at small marble-top tables facing a demonstration kitchen made cozy with a wall of kitchen supplies. "While the school is small," Lidia explains, "it has enormous impact. It encourages people to shop for the recipes they've learned and re-create them at home."

Assisted by Alex Pilas, Eataly's executive chef, Lidia starts class by explaining how the shape and texture of different pastas contribute to a successful dish and the distinction between fresh and dried varieties. (Don't despair if you prefer to open a box.)

"Dried pasta should be uniform in color," Lidia says. "A rough, floury texture is best for grabbing the sauce. Fresh pasta should be soft and porous so it takes on the sauce and is well-coated."

Lidia illustrates the point by demonstrating how to make gnocchi (small potato dumplings). Rolling the small balls of dough off the tines of a fork to create the gnocchi takes practice; Lidia patiently directs students in the technique.

When the gnocchi have finished cooking, they are drained and tossed with an aromatic spring pesto of fresh basil, flat-leaf parsley, mint, and sage.

Eataly wine director Dan Amatuzzi steps up to pair a lovely Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc-Picolit blend from the Friuli region with the gnocchi. (Most classes include wine pairings.) "With Italian foods, the weight of the food dictates the weight of the wine," Dan explains.

To prepare spinach fettuccine with chanterelles, spring peas, and prosciutto we make long strands of fettuccine from scratch. "Italians never break their pasta," Lidia says. As she serves the pasta, Lidia makes a perfectly curled nest in the center of the plate.

"Everyone wants to know how to do that," she says. "It's simple: Turn the plate."

Dan pours a wine with each recipe, including unexpected combinations such as a Rosato with the lobster. It's magic and pasta. Somewhere, Fellini is smiling.

"I am picky about my pignoli," Lidia says. I used to harvest them from pinecones that fell behind my grandmother's house. Pignoli bring aroma and creaminess to pesto, like melted butter. They must be super-fresh."

"Shape determines a cooked pasta's vibrancy and longevity. Penne rigate has the resiliency for baking, for those times I am not sure when my guests will arrive and the pasta might have to wait for them."

Prepare Aromatic Herb Pesto; set aside. To make gnocchi, place potatoes in Dutch oven with enough cold water to cover by at least 3 fingers. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 40 minutes or until tender. Drain; let potatoes stand until cool enough to handle. The hotter the potatoes are when you peel and rice them, the fluffier the riced potatoes will be.

Peel potatoes and put though ricer. Spread out in thin layer on cool, preferably marble, floured work surface to expose as much of their surface as possible to the air. While potatoes are cooling, bring 6 quarts salted water to boil in 8-quart pot over high heat.

Gather cold riced potatoes into loose mound with well in center. In small bowl, beat eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and white pepper together until blended. Pour egg mixture into well. With floured hands, work potatoes and eggs together, gradually adding as much flour as necessary to form firm but moist dough. Stop frequently to scrape work surface and reincorporate dough into main mixture. Forming dough should take no longer than 10 minutes. (The longer the dough is worked, the more flour it will require and the heavier the dough-and the finished gnocchi-will be.) As you work, dust dough, hands, and work surface lightly with flour as soon as dough begins to feel sticky.

Out dough into six equal portions. Using outstretched fingers and palms of both hands, roll each piece of dough into rope about 1/2-inch thick. Cut rope crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Sprinkle pieces with flour, then roll each piece between palms into rough ball. Re-flour hands as necessary to prevent sticking. Hold a fork at an angle to your work surface. Dip tip of thumb in flour. With tip of thumb, press a dough ball lightly but firmly against tines of fork while, at the same time, rolling it downward along tines. Dough will wrap around tip of thumb, forming a dumpling with a deep indentation on one side and a ridged surface on the other. Set gnocchi on baking sheet lined with clean, lightly floured kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.

At this point you can either freeze gnocchi or add it to boiling water. Cook until gnocchi are floating, indicating they are completely cooked. Reserve 1/2 cup of gnocchi cooking water; drain gnocchi.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Press garlic cloves with flat side of knife; add to skillet. Add prosciutto and sage leaves. Cook, stirring, until garlic is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms; season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned and wilted, about 7 minutes. Pour in tomatoes, season again lightly with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil. Lower heat so sauce is at a lively simmer; cook 5 minutes. Stir in peas and chopped parsley; cook until peas are tender, about 3 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, bring pot of salted water to boil. When sauce is done, stir fettuccine into boiling water. Return to boil, stirring frequently. Cook pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, about 5 minutes.

If using frozen spinach, take frozen block out of box, place in colander over bowl and let thaw completely and drain in refrigerator overnight. Squeeze thawed spinach by handfuls to press out as much liquid as possible when ready to make dough.

If using fresh spinach, try to start a day ahead. Wash thoroughly in several changes of cold water. Remove stems; cook 5 minutes or more in large volume of boiling water. Remove spinach from pot; let drain and cool in colander. Squeeze out as much water as possible. If possible, let drain and dry in refrigerator overnight. Squeeze spinach again.

(With either kind of spinach, when you think you've squeezed it enough, squeeze it again, by handfuls, using all your might. The drier the spinach, the better the pasta.)

Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in bowl or measuring cup with spout. With food processor running, pour in liquid ingredients on top of green flour. Process about 30 seconds, scraping down work bowl and remaining egg mixture. Process another 20 to 30 seconds, until dough has started to come together in ball on blade.

To roll out dough with pasta machine, cut it in six equal pieces. Keeping them lightly floured, roll each piece through pasta-rolling machine at progressively narrower settings into 5-inch-wide sheets (or as wide as your machine allows) and 20- to 24-inches long. Cut long sheets in half crosswise into twelve strips, each about a foot long and 5 inches wide.

To cut fettuccine by hand, one strip at a time, lightly flour one strip and, starting with short end, fold it over in thirds or quarters, creating small rectangle with three or four layers of pasta. With sharp knife, cut cleanly through folded dough crosswise, separating into 1/2-inch-wide pieces. Shake and unfurl cut pieces, opening them into long ribbons. Dust liberally with flour. Gather fettuccine into loose nest and set it on floured tray. Fold and cut all of pasta this way, piling fettuccine in small, floured nests. Leave uncovered to air-dry at room temperature until ready to cook (or freeze nests on tray until solid; pack in airtight sealable freezer bags).

You will need a large pot for cooking the pasta and a 4-quart rectangular baking dish or oval gratin dish. Note: Sauce should be made in advance and can be refrigerated for a few days or even frozen for a few weeks.

Remove sausage casings and crumble meat into large bowl. Pour 1/2 cup wine over sausage; mix with fingers, breaking up any big clumps so sausage is evenly moistened.

Pour olive oil into 14-inch skillet or Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Stir in onions; cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Scatter garlic in pan; season with salt and peperoncino. When everything is sizzling, add crumbled sausage and stir together with onions. Pour in remaining 1/2 cup wine. Raise heat a bit, and cook, stirring, as wine cooks away and sausage browns, about 10 minutes.

Pour in undrained tomatoes. Use one cup water to rinse tomato cans and bowl and add to pan. Submerge basil branch in liquid; cover skillet and bring to boil. Set cover ajar; adjust heat to keep sauce bubbling steadily. Cook 1 hour or more, until sauce has developed good flavor and is reduced to consistency you like for dressing pasta (about 8 cups total). Remove and discard basil branch. Reserve 4 cups sauce, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze for later use.